Collier and Lolo Catch Another Gear in Colorado

By Jolee Jordan

Denver, Colorado — Lolo loves Denver.

The nine year old daughter of PESI stallion A Streak of Fling carried her rider, college student Kellie Collier, to a huge paycheck less than a week ago inside the Denver Coliseum during the unsanctioned Colorado vs. the World event.

When Collier returned to Denver to compete at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, she rode with plenty of confidence and Lolo delivered in a big way.

After posting a currently-round placing first go run of 15.49 seconds, Collier and Lolo turned up the heat for round two. Their 15.23 second run was the fastest of the rodeo at the time and the best in round two. In addition, her two run total of 30.72 seconds jumped to the top of the leaderboard as well, stealing the lead from Idaho’s Kali Parker who had been in charge since last weekend.

The track on Thursday seemed to be very fast for both shows. After Collier’s second run took the lead during the matinee performance, California cowgirl Katie Pascoe blazed into the lead on Thursday night. Her horse Naughty was anything but in the first round with the best run of the rodeo at 15.22 seconds.

Pascoe will return for her second run on Friday morning and is hoping to become a third-generation winner here in Denver. Both her grandfather, John W. Jones, and father, John W. Jones, Jr. have won this rodeo and both are PRCA World Champions.

The National Western Stock Show (NWSS) has been a tradition in Denver for better than a century and the rodeo is one of pro rodeo’s most lucrative payouts with a committee purse of more than $35,000. For barrel racers, the event is limited to 120 competitors and each one gets two runs in back-to-back performances. At the end of the preliminary rounds on Saturday, January 22, the fastest 12 on two runs will advance to the Championship Round on Sunday to battle for the title of National Western Champion.

Before Pascoe and Collier stormed to the lead, it was Great Lakes Circuit Champion Jordan Moore and home state hero Kelly Yates providing the fireworks on Tuesday night. Moore and her gelding Ringo posted a 15.31 to take the lead at that point in the first go round with Yates and her phenomenal young mare Fiestanozshezfamous close on their heels at 15.35 seconds.

The NWSS continues on Friday and Saturday with the remaining performances of the long rounds of competition. Among the competitors scheduled to compete are 2012 WPRA World Champ Mary Walker, who won the finals in Denver a year ago and is a past winner of the NWSS, along with Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR) qualifiers Jackie Ganter, Britany Diaz, Carley Richardson, Stevi Hillman and Sabrina Ketchum. Add in former Ram National Circuit Finals champ—and 2016 Montana Circuit Finals Rodeo winner Carmel Wright and 2016 Cheyenne Frontier Days champion Tillar Murray and it should be a great weekend of barrel racing.

For more updates, stay tuned to wpra.com and for more information on the National Western, visit them on-line at nationalwestern.com.

Results
1st Go
1. Katie Pascoe, JR Naughty Jet, 15.22
2. Jordan Moore, CCR Ring of Fire, 15.31
3. Kelly Yates, Fiestanozshezfamous, 15.35
4. tie Cayla Small, Shameon U, 15.38
4. tie Dena Kirkpatrick, Kates Always First, 15.38
6. Hailey Kinsel, DM Sissy Hayday, 15.41
7. Tammy Fischer, LZ Sheza Hayday, 15.45
8. Kali Parker, Tuneful, 15.46
9. tie Sidney Forrest, So Epic, 15.49
10. tie Kellie Collier, Streakin Easy April, 15.49

2nd Go
1. Collier, 15.23
2. Parker, 15.34
3. Kathy Grimes, KG JusticeWeExpected, 15.41
4. Kinsel, 15.46
5. Tiany Schuster, JSYK Im Famous, 15.49
6. Rainy Pratt, Cat Dash Silver, 15.51
7. Callahan Crossley, 15.52
8. Hope Sickler, Barbs Illusion, 15.54
9. Michele McLeod, Apt to Be Special, 15.56
10. Forrest/Calyssa Thomas, 15.57

Average
1. Collier, 30.72
2. Parker, 30.80
3. Kinsel, 30.87
4. Schuster, 31.03
5. Forrest, 31.06
6. Yates, 31.06
7. Small, 31.13
8. Trula Churchill, A Streak of Rita, 31.19
9. Crossley, 31.22
10. Ronnie Will, Super Devotion, 31.24
11. tie Kim Schulze, Holy Moly Im Famous/Grimes, 31.29

Courtesy of WPRA